Millers Falls #387 pedal scroll saw

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I finished the New Rogers scroll saw work today with the pinstriping and gold lettering on the frame, now I want to get started on the MF 387. Almost all the parts are there except for the hand wheel (no hopes of finding one so I may just make a replica for display purposes) and the dust blower bellows. I know there has to be someone out there with info and maybe even a good picture of what this assembly should look like. I have a rod, arm and front piece with the hole and place for the bellows but no idea what it should look like. What ever it was made from looks like it was held on the front piece with a piece of twisted wire. After all this time it had the nerve to dis-integrate. Imagine that! Anyone out there have any info? picture (I hope, I hope, I hope)? :eusa_thin

 

[nelsone]

Sounds like a neat project. Please share pictures with us during the restoration. You may want to check Mid-West Tool Collectors Assn. and see about contacting one of the guys in your area regarding the missing parts. I don't know if they can help you or not. This guy is listed from the January meeting in York,Don Stark (717) 367-5207. Good luck

 

[Tarhead]

Come on Mike...you know the rules. No Pics! I'll have to check it out in person and report back to the group. Looking forward to my visit in June! Ed Hobbs (Hobbsed) may know of a reference. Shoot him a PM. He's the resident antique cordless tool expert.:icon_thum

Mark

 

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I actually shot Ed a PM already because I remember him being mentioned when I first joined this cool bunch. Haven't heard back yet. I visited the site mentioned above and didn't find anything in particular that referred to the saw so I shot the Webmaster a note there too. There's no place on the site to just "contact us" like most sites have.

Yeah... I know the rules..."no pics - it didn't happen". Working on that too. I keep forgetting you do things a little different than the scroller site and I have to download to my gallery first. I'm getting set up now to start the nickeling process on the blower head today. :eusa_doh:

 

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Ok here's some pics...
The first is a shot of the frame as I started to disassemble it to work on the individual parts.
The second is the dust blower head I need to get some pictures of the final assembly of.
The third is the pedal assembly I made from 4 seperate pieces. I had a replacement pedal body made on a plasma table from a pattern I made from the broken pedal. Then I welded on the pieces from the old pedal that were salvageable.
The forth is the pieces I cut out for another set of pedal clamps and the original clamps from my New Rogers.
The fifth is the finished pedal clamps I made from black pipe.
The last is the upper arm assembly after I started putting it back together. I still need info to complete the dust blower.


I'll send more as I progress further. I should finish the replating of the blower head tonight. I hope this turns out as nice as the New Rogers did.
Whew... I really took advanteg of today's nice weather. :tinysmile_tongue_t:

 

[nelsone]

Wow, you were busy! Great job on the pedal!

 

[dick541]

Mark: Are you going to the scroolsaw show in Lancaster on june 7? If so we need to get together with Mike when we get up there. Rita and I are going.
dick

 

[cskipper]

Mark: Are you going to the scroolsaw show in Lancaster on june 7? If so we need to get together with Mike when we get up there. Rita and I are going.
dick

How long does it take to get to Lancaster?

 

[Tarhead]

Dick,
Nope:no:
I'll miss it. We will be down in Louisana that weekend. Hope thay have at least one bag of Crawfish left!

 

[JimmyC]

Dick,
Nope:no:
I'll miss it. We will be down in Louisana that weekend. Hope thay have at least one bag of Crawfish left!

MMMMMM! Looozeeanna.....Mud bugs, shrimps, jambalaya, etoufee, gumbo, on and on and on. I may be an ex-NJ boy, but I spent alot of time in New Orleans and I sure do miss the food. Whodat!

Mark, enjoy the food down there and have a good trip.

Jimmy

 

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How long does it take to get to Lancaster?

I see where you are located and the best way up here from there is the way I use to come down to Chesnee, SC to visit my son and his family. Over to Charlotte, take 77N all the way to Wyethville (actually thats the end of 77), take 81 N all the way to Pa. Get off 81 in Chambersburg and take 76 (Pa. turnpike). Follow 76 to the rt. 83 exit. Head south on rt 83 toward York. In York get off 83 at the rt 30 exit on Whiteford Rd. (21A)and take rt 30 over to Lancaster. Don't forget to check the "*shoe house" on the right side of the rd. just past the Galeria Mall exit (rt 24/Mt. Zion rd.) If you see the WSBA studio building-you went past it. Neat history. Cross over Susquehanna River. After a while (10-15 minutes) you'll see a large mall on the left (try to control your wife's urge to stop) In fact for the next mile or two there will be a couple malls to your right also. Once you pass these it's time to start looking for the Greenfield Rd. exit. Get off the ramp and at the bottom turn right. You'll go back under rt. 30 and just past the overpass you'll see the Holiday Inn on your right. There's gas station there, a deli/bakery, Hampton Inn, Isaac' Deli, etc. Nice place.
Hampton Inn (717)299-1200, Holiday Inn (717)299-2551, Greenfield (717)393-0668-just up trhe road about 1/4 mile.
It takes me 2 days because of physical limitations but when I used to do it in one day it took about 8-9 hours (with a good tail wind). :confused_

 

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OK... woke up to another beautiful day so I headed out to the shop around 8 am. Only needed the heat for about 2 hours until the sun warmed up the shop and it got comfortable. Was around 70 by early afternoon.

Really got into the 387 ... Finished sandblasting and cleaning up the frame and started the painting. Hung the parts out to dry in the sun and by 3pm I was putting it all back together again. Had to make a pedal to wheel connector and will "make it look older so it blends in. I still didn't start the replating like I was going to but tomorrow is another day and it's supposed to rain anyway.

Pics are as follows...
FIRST is of the back of the arms where they run through the frame and the connection for the pump (dust blower) rod.
SECOND is the upper assembly shot from the left and shows the arm mechanism.
THIRD is the upper assembly shot from the right and shows the small pulley, buffing wheel and drill bit holder.
FORTH is of the whole saw from the front (I still need to replace the striping and gilt onthe lettering).
FIFTH is the pair of saw, side-by-side.
SIXTH show the pin striping on the New Rogers and the gilt on the lettering.


I was actually going to sell this one after it was complete but now I think I'll keep it too. The New Rogers will become part of Ethel's inventory for shows somehow. I know I'll pay for all this tomorrow. Thank God for the heating pads and ice packs. But I love to do it. :confused_

 

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P.S. One more thing before this post ends. The biggest thing I've learned from this restorations is: Never throw away all the little bottle and boxes of nuts, bolts, and screws your Dad had in his shop.

WHY? Because there no place around anymore where you can get any variety of slot head screws or square headed nuts and bolts! They are necessary if your serious about restoring a tool like these to as original as possible. I found a couple #4 and #6 slot head wood screw at the local ACE but nothing bigger... everything has gone PHILLIPS!! Won't be long a slot head screw driver will be a collectors item! Even McFeeley's only had slot heads in brass. :eusa_doh:

 

[cskipper]

Thanks for the directions from Forest City. I've never gone to one of the picnics and really never thought I'd drag LOML on one of his precious weekends at home. It sounds like a lot of fun - may just have to figure a way to kidnap him. :lol: What else, woodworking related is between here and there?

 

[rickc]

After all this time it had the nerve to dis-integrate. Imagine that! Anyone out there have any info? picture (I hope, I hope, I hope)? :eusa_thin

Is there by any chance a patent number on the saw? You might be able to go to the patent office have the information you are looking for.

 

[Pop]

Is there by any chance a patent number on the saw? You might be able to go to the patent office have the information you are looking for.

Nothing on the saw. Back then they probably didn't stamp them onthe item but probably had a "patent applied for" some where at the company. I got one response from a site that specializes in old tools and machinery. They're going through their info and putting the request out to the members. Since back then they pretty much had the parts made from a lot of different shops, I'm going to look for other models that also had the dust blower attachment. As you can see from the last bunch of pictures, it looks like they shared a lot of common pieces for a lot of the saws. Thanks for the reply though, I'll keep that in mind for future projects.

 

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I'm so glad Mark mentioned Ed Hobbs early on in this post. He and I finally got together and today he sent me 6 pictures of one of his scroll saws with the blower assembly on it. Tomorrow ... out to the shop and fire up the metal lathe (1945 Dunlap). With a little luck, some round brass stock and a few pieces of Mom's old leather gloves (Ed mentioned the leather bellows was made from thin leather), I'll have a working blower on the MF 387 by this weekend. Then I'll try a cut or two.

Also looks like Ed and I collect similar old tools from the stuff in the background of his photos. He's definitely got some nice looking stuff... and a lot of it!

 

[Glennbear]

P.S. One more thing before this post ends. The biggest thing I've learned from this restorations is: Never throw away all the little bottle and boxes of nuts, bolts, and screws your Dad had in his shop.

WHY? Because there no place around anymore where you can get any variety of slot head screws or square headed nuts and bolts! They are necessary if your serious about restoring a tool like these to as original as possible. I found a couple #4 and #6 slot head wood screw at the local ACE but nothing bigger... everything has gone PHILLIPS!! Won't be long a slot head screw driver will be a collectors item! Even McFeeley's only had slot heads in brass. :eusa_doh:

Thanks for the advice, as I organize the shop I was planning on weeding out fasteners, now I know better !! :wsmile:

 

[Tarhead]

Mike,
Circle July 26 on your calendar. Ed Hobbs and his wonderful wife host the NC contingent of the Midwest Tool Collectors at his beautiful homestead in Raleigh. To quote my cute 3 y/o neice... "It's a special too-casion.":eusa_danc